


there's a hole in my soul

by orphan_account



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: M/M, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-07
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 12:29:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4746512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaytim mermaid au because I'm a sucker for mermaids. If I get around to writing more then this will eventually be Dickjaytim. Title is from Bastille's Flaws.</p>
            </blockquote>





	there's a hole in my soul

If Jason thought he had any he’d count his lucky scales. For once he’d managed to find somewhere quiet: a nice little reef without much boat traffic, not a lot of predators, and not a lot of other merfolk. There were even a couple of uninhabited islands nearby, which he’d been in the middle of inspecting when he noticed the fishing boat.

Diving back beneath the surface he headed in the opposite direction of the vessel. He had no desire to get caught up in that kind of mess… until the familiar sounds of a struggle caught his attention. 

Whipping around, he scanned the net the fishing boat had dropped in the water until he found the source. There was another merman caught in the net, his entire torso tangled up. 

Jason floated where he was and watched, debating if he should help or not. The net wasn’t being dragged in yet, he probably had plenty of time to get himself untangled so long as he didn’t panic… but then it was happening, the net, the panicking, and before Jason even realized he had moved he was there.

“Stop moving,” Jason said with enough command that the other merman froze. 

Quickly Jason moved his thin arms back through the net with an almost practiced ease. Just as they were getting pulled in too close to the boat for comfort he was free. Once they were a comfortable distance away Jason stopped to let his heartbeat even out again, finally letting his grip on the other’s arm go.

Just as Jason was about to turn and leave, to escape any kind of disgusted, hated look he would most likely receive, a hand wrapped around his wrist. 

“Thank you,” the other merman said, who had stunning blue eyes. Eyes that weren’t staring at Jason’s scars. Eyes that were warm and sincere, and only looking at Jason’s face. For the time being, at least.

“Oh, you’re welcome?” Jason says, and it comes out like a question because he’s confused. How was this gorgeous merperson with the beautiful, billowy, black and red tail, and the pretty face not disgusted at the sight of him?

Merfolk prided themselves on their beauty, and yeah, Jason had been beautiful once. Strong gray tail with a white belly, and sharp fins tipped in black. But that was taken from him. Now he was scarred on his chest and tail, and most of his fins were torn in places. The ostracization was almost enough to make him wish he hadn’t survived.

“I’m Tim,” he said, head tilting to the side slightly, a small, amused smile on his lips. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

“Jason,” he responded, watching Tim’s face, waiting for him to look down, waiting for him to run away. “I move around a lot.”

Jason watched, bracing himself as Tim’s eyebrows met in confusion and his eyes trailed down Jason’s body, taking in everything. “Why?”

“Because I don’t really get along well with others.” Jason said, shrugging like the answer was obvious. His heart was racing, body tense and ready to jump at any sign of rejection.

“Well,” he started, the warm smile returning to his face, like he knew it was what Jason need. “There’s not a whole lot of us around here, so feel free to try sticking around if you feel like it.”

All Jason could manage to do was stare after Tim, completely mystified, as he swam past him in the direction of the reef. 

It was like Tim had read him like an open book.  
-

Sticking around for a couple of extra days had not been Jason’s original plan. He had planned to just keep moving along like he always had. It was even against his better judgement that he’d stayed.

But there was something about Tim that compelled him.

He’d spent the past few days hanging out on the outskirts of the reef for the most part. The only time he left was when Tim left, following and watching him as he went looking for animals in need.

It impressed Jason how many animals Tim helped. Most of them were cases where Jason would have taken mercy on them and ended everything quickly. But not Tim.

Most of them seemed to be rescues from nets of fisherman. As long as the seals or the dolphins weren’t too banged up he let them go right away. There were a few rare cases where some of them had survived attacks by sharks or other predators and Tim helped them get better, nursed them back to good health.

There had been a few times when Jason was worried he’d gotten too close trying to see what Tim was doing because Tim had looked up and right at him. But the look on his face had almost seemed amused instead of hostile or angry. Tim never reacted the way Jason expected him to, and it almost made him angry.

No one else smiled at him. No one else would talk to him, or even consider offering to let him hang around anywhere longer than it took him to leave. So why did Tim? Jason just couldn’t figure it out, and there was really only one way to find out.

Following after Tim one day Jason didn’t realize right away they were heading out to where they had first met. But the boat, and its net, was back. 

Tim immediately headed towards a young seal caught in the net. Unfortunately he couldn’t get it to calm down, and the thrashing it was doing was resulting in it getting tangled further.

Swimming up to them without a word Jason offered his help, and between the two of them they managed to get the seal free. After a quick look over Tim let it go, satisfied that it didn’t have any injuries.

“Thanks, again.” Tim said once they’d checked the rest of the net and were certain that it didn’t have anymore prisoners.

“Don’t mention it,” Jason said, swimming by Tim’s side this time as they headed back towards the reef.

The short swim back was quiet, and it was surprisingly comfortable. At least, until Tim spoke up again.

“So, does this mean you’re staying?” He asked, the corners of his mouth pulling up.

Jason considered his question for a minute. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go, and it seemed like Tim wanted him to stay, so he might as well. 

“For now, I guess.” Jason answered. Tim’s responding smile added to his giant pile of confusion.


End file.
